EX Plaid Cymru president Dafydd Wigley revealed his biggest political regret is failing to push for a Welsh Assembly coalition govern-ment after the 1999 elections.

The ex-Caernarfon AM and MP, who retired from active politics last year on health grounds, said it was a missed opportunity in the fledgling years of the first assembly.

In an interview to be broadcast on S4C tonight Mr Wigley said: "I truly regret that I didn't campaign harder for a coalition govern-ment in 1999.

"It was a great opportunity for the National Assembly for Wales to establish itself during the first few years of its existence.

"With Labour failing to win the majority of seats we should have pushed for a coalition, turned our backs on all the in-fighting and built a system that would have been acceptable for the people and development of Wales."

The former politician told chat show host Nia Roberts all parties missed out on providing Wales with effective consensual government.

The chance came in the wake of a spirit of "inclusive politics" nurtured between Plaid Cymru, Labour and the Liberal Democrats during the "Yes" campaign in the 1997 assembly referendum.

In the interview, the former MP and AM for Caernarfon, also revealed it was the drowning of the Tryweryn Valley in 1965 that made him want to enter politics.

"To my generation, the fact that a Welsh village and valley can be flooded in order to provide the city of Liverpool with industrial water shows how helpless we were as a nation.

"This is what persuaded me that unless we got our own government, in Wales for the people of Wales, we'd never get a fair deal as a nation."

Mr Wigley also talks about his close professional relationship with former prime minister John Major.

All Westminster MPs are "paired" with a fellow MP in a spirit of cross-party co-operation in the House of Commons and they were an unlikely pairing for 18 years.